#over Pennyworth's competent cinematography+ nonsensical narrative combo

[psalmsofpsychosis]

Pennyworth (2019-2022): A Review

*messages temple* so anyway, i'm dropping the show at second episode.

Pennyworth is a good competent execution of a forced, subpar story really. The aesthetics, the visual storytelling, the narrative transitions are very clean and pleasing and wonderful, pains me to say it truly— but it's far better editing than the majority of Gotham TV.

And that execution still doesn't save it. The story feels cliche, vaguely vapid and inconsequential. really, good directing and good OST wasted on a lukewarm story. it's nonthreatening, "occasionally weird and flirty" is the best it gets, and it tries so hard for plot, but there's none, and what little there is to look for, it just can't make you care about it. The whole story is trite and unsure of itself, flimsy at the edges. And none of it matter at all to the characters or to you as an audience.

And another thing is— the story feels so uncomfortably detached and standalone-ish for a narrative that cannot stand on its own two feet. It tries to individuate from the common Batman [and more particularly GothamTV's] interpretations while establishing such willy nilly relationship with its preceding narrative and ultimately Alfred's characterization falls flat on its face somewhere inbetween Gotham's and Pennyworth(2019)'s story. "Pennyworth" miraculously leaves out everything that made the Gotham!Alfred interpretation distinct and captivating —It leaves out the uncomfortable weirdness. Pennyworth!Alfred feels too hip, too trendy, too effortlessly sly, too acceptably proper, too sanded and smoothed all around the edges. Which is such shame really, because the cinematography, the atmosphere, the music, it's all done so tastefully, so well executed, but the narrative pace and the story is so forced and too fast and too insincere and cliche.